The invention relates to the field of fabric printing and particularly to screen printing sheer fabric.
Sheer fabric is a fabric with many holes or voids. Ninety-five percent or more of the fabric area may consist of holes in between the individual strands of fabric. Such fabric is generally xe2x80x9csee-throughxe2x80x9d in nature. Sheer fabric can be used to make a diverse array of articles. Some of the articles commonly made from sheer fabric include decorative ribbons, stockings, and T-shirts.
One method of printing on fabric in general is screen printing, which involves a screen that has been selectively masked with a stencil. The article to be printed is supported on a table and the screen brought to bear against the article. A squeegee is moved across the screen to push ink through openings in the stencil and create an image on the article. Automated processes can produce printed articles quickly. Such processes involve affixing the articles to an intermittently moving conveyer belt by suction or other means. The conveyer belt moves the articles to a reciprocating screen, pauses to allow the screen to print and then moves the articles again when printing has been accomplished.
However, printing on sheer fabric has proven to be especially difficult. If conventional screen printing techniques are attempted on sheer fabric, the ink flows through the many holes in the fabric onto the conveyer or support table. The ink inevitably collects on these surfaces and must be periodically cleaned. The occurrence of ink penetrating through the holes in the fabric may be referred to as ink strikethrough.
Ink strikethrough is an especially big problem in automated processes because strikethrough can build up quickly and clog moving parts in the printing apparatus. Thus, a production line employing a screen printing unit must be frequently shut down and cleaned.
A need exists for an efficient and economical method of printing on sheer fabric.
A supply of sheer fabric to be printed is provided. A supply of a release substrate having a width less than the width of the sheer fabric is also provided. Preferably, both supplies are provided in the form of supply rolls and the rolls are mounted proximate an endless belt. A low tack adhesive can be applied to the endless belt. The sheer fabric and the release substrate are combined such that the edges of the fabric overhang the edges of the release substrate. The overhanging edges of the sheer fabric and the release substrate are temporarily affixed to the endless belt.
The combined sheer fabric and release substrate are conveyed on the endless belt through one or more printing stations where at least one color ink is printed on the sheer fabric. The ink is dried and the sheer fabric is separated from the release substrate.